The present invention relates generally to catheters having an antimicrobial coating on an outside surface of the catheter tubing and to methods for manufacturing such catheters.
Peripherally inserted central catheters and other central venous catheters have been associated with increased rates of nosocomial infection. Typically, nosocomial infections resulting from catheters are due to biofilm formation along the outer surface of the catheter tubing. To address this issue, many central venous catheters are manufactured with an antimicrobial coating on the outer surfaces of the catheter tubing. Such coatings minimize the possibility that microbes will colonize on the surface while the catheter tubing is positioned within the vasculature of the patient.
Peripheral intravenous catheters typically have shorter dwell times than central venous catheters which inherently reduces the risk of biofilm formation on the outer surfaces of peripheral intravenous catheters. In spite of this, there is still a risk of nosocomial infection due to biofilm formation on the outer surfaces of peripheral intravenous catheters.
Although the current techniques used for applying antimicrobial coatings to the outer surface of catheter tubing are effective for central venous catheters, these techniques are oftentimes inadequate for peripheral intravenous catheters. For example, peripheral intravenous catheters are oftentimes configured to allow blood flashback to be visible during insertion of the catheter. The coatings typically used on central venous catheters, however, have poor transparency and therefore block the visibility of the flashback. Also, during manufacture of peripheral intravenous catheters, it is common to stretch the tubing during flaring or swaging processes. When catheter tubing that has been treated using current antimicrobial coatings is stretched, the coating oftentimes tears rendering the catheter unusable. Accordingly, current techniques for applying an antimicrobial coating to catheter tubing have proven to be inadequate for use on peripheral intravenous catheters.